How to See West End Shows for £20–£30 (Not £100+)

Right, if you're paying full whack for West End tickets in London, you're doing it wrong. There's genuinely five different ways to get into proper shows, the kind that cost £100+ normally, for £20 to £30. Some of them you've probably heard of. Some are quietly brilliant and nobody talks about them.

What you get

You're getting actual tickets to real West End shows. Lion King, Wicked, Hamilton, the lot. Day seats run £20–£30 and you buy them from the box office on the morning of the show. TKTS discount tickets go for up to 50% off full price (plus a £3 fee) and you grab them same-day at the TKTS Booth, Leicester Square, WC2H 7LP, nearest tube is Leicester Square. Standing room at Shakespeare's Globe runs £5–£10. Lottery tickets and rush tickets through apps like TodayTix typically cost £25 or less. All of these are legit. All of these are official.

How to get it

1. Day seats, Walk to the box office of the theatre you want. Most open at 10am. Ask for day seats (restricted view, standing, or front row depending on what's left). You'll queue. It moves. Buy on the day only.

2. TKTS, Head to Leicester Square at 10am Mon–Sat, 11am Sun. The booth closes at 7pm weekdays and Saturdays, 4:30pm Sundays. Same-day only. They'll show you what's available on a screen and you pick. No booking online.

3. Lotteries, Download TodayTix. Most West End shows run daily lotteries. You enter (it's free), they draw winners, winners get cheap tickets. Odds aren't great but it costs nothing to try.

4. Rush tickets, Check the official theatre website or OfficialLondonTheatre.com. Some theatres release rush tickets at the box office on show day. Some do it online. Varies by theatre.

5. Standing room, Shakespeare's Globe does standing tickets for £5–£10 year-round. It's actually brilliant, you're standing in the pit, proper Elizabethan style, and you can move around during the show.

What the TikTok didn't mention

• Best time to go: Weekday matinees and Monday–Wednesday evenings have way less competition. Day seats at 10am on a Tuesday morning? You've got options. Saturday night? You're fighting everyone.
• Restricted view means restricted view: You might not see the entire stage. Sometimes you'll miss key moments. Read the seat map before you buy. Some restricted seats are fine. Some are genuinely rough.
• Lotteries need the app: You can't enter via website for most shows. Download TodayTix, set up an account, and enter every show you fancy. Winners drawn usually the day before or morning of.

The catch

Day seats and TKTS sell out early, we're talking before 11am on busy days. And lotteries have thousands of entries for maybe 20 tickets. You might enter for weeks and not win. Restricted view seats can genuinely block key stage action, so you're not getting the full experience even if you do get in cheap.

If you're willing to queue, enter lotteries regularly, and don't mind a partial view, you'll see West End shows for a quarter of what everyone else paid.